On December 31 junior players from the club attended an A-League match between the Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory to be presented with a cheque for the money.

Club president Chris Riley said that the money was extremely valuable.

"It'll help a lot with equipment, sheds, that sort of thing.

"Sponsorships are hard to get hold of ... we work on a very tight schedule, plus we have to compete against rugby league.

"We'll be able to update the grounds and spruce the club up."

The reward caps off an eventful year for Tilligerry after raising enough money earlier in 2011 to travel to Canberra for the Kanga Cup competition where its under 11s side took home the shield. ,

The Cup is the largest youth football event in the southern hemisphere.

Riley credits club vice-president Michael Jarvis with securing the funding.

"Mick spends a lot of time looking for these sorts of things and he does a lot for the club, often without any credit."

The grassroots program aims to provide football clubs from around Australia with funding to support and sustain their growth.

Each side is automatically awarded $1000 and then an extra $1000 for every goal scored by their closest home side during a selected A-League match, Newcastle and Perth drew 1 - 1.